Collaborative stitching

My loot, from a stash busting operation last week, was a lovely little linen piece, already framed up on stretchers, and partly worked in pulled thread.  I thought I'd like to render it in goldwork instead of the pale green thread currently in residence,so I gently removed the center part which had been stitched and found that the threads stayed put.  I think they'd been in place a while!

And then I thought rather than tweak them back into place,why not honor the first stitcher,Helen H, by leaving the linen like that and continue the design differently in golds.  So that's what's up with this piece.  She is not yet aware that I'm doing this, so I hope she's okay with it.  Anyway, here's a pic of the pulled thread goldwork.

And another one of the progress of the green linen goldwork surface embroidery piece, with the enlarger I was donated via freecycle, interesting new view, never having used any kind of magnifier for work, even on miniatures, so this is a new skill.

I framed the first goldwork piece,the learning one, and sponge painted the frame from a boring black to a mottled gold, to work better with the stitching.